The me in memory:the role of the self in autobiographical memory development

This paper tests the hypothesis that self development plays a role in the offset of childhood amnesia; assessing the importance of both the capacity to anchor a memory to the self-concept, and the strength of the self-concept as an anchor. We demonstrate for the first time that the volume of 3- to 6-year-old’s specific autobiographical memories is predicted by both the volume of their self-knowledge, and their capacity for self-source monitoring within self-referencing paradigms (N =186). Moreover, there is a bidirectional relationship between self and memory, such that autobiographical memory mediates the link between self-source monitoring and self-knowledge. These predictive relationships suggests that the self memory system is active in early childhood

Project Home Evaluation: Final Report

Evaluates a New York State Department of Health-funded project to help nursing home patients move home or into community-based settings through discharge planning services, training, and education. Examines differentiating factors such as Medicaid status

Social structure and the familiy: a United States - Germany comparison of residential proxmity between parents and adult children

'In der zweiten Lebenshälfte ist die räumliche Entfernung zwischen Eltern und einem ihrer erwachsenen Kinder von entscheidender Bedeutung für die Erbringung von alltagspraktischen Hilfeleistungen. Der vorliegende Aufsatz widmet sich der Frage, in welcher Entfernung vom Haushalt der Eltern das nächstwohnende erwachsene Kind lebt. Wir betrachten diese Frage für die USA und für Deutschland. Nur durch einen Ländervergleich wird ersichtlich, ob sich vergleichbare Mobilitätsfaktoren unterschiedlich auf die Wohnentfernung auswirken. Mit Hilfe der Daten des Sozioökonomischen Panels und des National Survey of Families and Households zeigen wir, dass die Entfernung zu den Eltern maßgeblich durch die Bildungsqualifikation und den beruflichen Status der Kinder beeinflusst wird. Ebenso durch Lebenslaufeffekte und kritische Familienereignisse etwa eine Scheidung oder eine Verwitwung. Unterschiedlich nahe leben Söhne und Töchter. Letztere leben meist näher und bei familialen Krisen wird die Entfernung vornehmlich zwischen ihnen und ihren Eltern geringer.' (Autorenreferat)'The geographical proximity between parents and their adult children is conducted in a cross-national analysis. We propose a theoretical framework in which we view the process of residential decisions as resulting from a conflict between the dependency needs of family members, life cycle positions and the occupational opportunities offered by labor market. We use comparable national data sets on the United States and Germany to address the question of whether the determinants of geographical distance between the generations differ in the two countries. As predicted, educational and occupational attainment was positively related to geographical distance between the generations. Further, life cycle factors emerged as important predictors, with persons in middle age are most likely to live farther away from parents than either older or younger children. However, major crossnational differences in predictors of geographical proximity were not found.' (author's abstract)'

Modulation of Regulatory T Cells by Cytokines

The incidence of immunopathology is increasing; and treatments usually involve systemic immunosuppression, with significant side-effects. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) inhibit immune responses in a targeted manner, and are being studied as potential therapeutic agents. Interleukin 2 (IL-2) is among the few well-characterized modulators of Tregs. IL-2 stimulation increases Treg function, but inhibits suppression in co-cultures with T helper (Th) cells, due to dominant effects on Th cells. Characterizing cytokine modulation of Tregs is important because Treg-targeted therapy would be used primarily to treat diseases that induce cytokine production. Recent work has implicated IL-6 in the regulation of Tregs in the lung and in the pathogenesis of several diseases. We investigated the influence of IL-2 and IL-6 on Tregs, and found that they increased Treg suppressive function, proliferation, and expression of FoxP3 and CTLA4. Interestingly, both cytokines are regulated by suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3), and we found that unstimulated Tregs lacked SOCS3, whereas naïve Th cells expressed it abundantly. SOCS3 over-expression in Tregs inhibited proliferation, FoxP3 and CTLA4 expression, and suppressive function. Whereas IL-2 and SOCS3 seemed to act during homeostatic conditions, IL-4 is active in disease states. IL-4 is required for experimental asthma induction in mice due to its critical role in the development of Th2 cells, which protect against helminth infections. Consequently, we analyzed regulation of Tregs by IL-4 in vivo during allergic airway inflammation. Pulmonary Treg numbers were similar in tolerized mice compared to those with inflammation, and adoptive transfer of Tregs inhibited inflammation, implying that cytokines might have inhibited Treg function. However, IL-4Rα-/- Tregs, which lack the IL-4 receptor alpha chain, were less effective in reducing inflammation. In vitro, IL-4 increased Treg proliferation and maintenance of FoxP3 expression, did not alter Treg suppressive function, and increased Th cell resistance to suppression. Also, IL-4-mediated effects on Tregs and Th cells required signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6). Therefore, IL-4 increased Treg function in vivo by enhancing Treg proliferation through a STAT6-dependent mechanism. In summary, SOCS3 may serve as a future therapeutic agent, whereas the net effect of IL-4 blockade therapy remains unclear

Perspectives on the Social Psychology of Creativity

Scholars began serious study into the social psychology of creativity about 25 years after the field of creativity research had taken root. Over the past 35 years, examination of social and environmental influences on creativity has become increasingly vigorous, with broad implications for the psychology of human performance, and with applications to education, business, and beyond. In this article, we revisit the origins of the social psychology of creativity, trace its arc, and suggest directions for its future